By Mick LaSalle, Hearst Newspapers

Published 4:12 pm, Thursday, May 1, 2014

HELLO MICK: Elia Kazan thought Paul Newman was as good as Marlon Brando. Not even close, in my opinion. What's your opinion?

— Nicholas Duka, Lafayette

HELLO NICHOLAS: I'd say we have a tortoise and the hare situation. Newman wasn't much of an actor until around 1960. Then he got better and better. Brando was brilliant from the start, and never less than interesting, but the performances of his last 30 years were mainly just eccentric.

Newman had one of his best performances in "The Road to Perdition" (2002). Newman was smarter than Brando, and less crazy, which put him at a disadvantage when they were young, but benefited him over the long haul.

DEAR MICK LASALLE: Our cat, a rescue about a year and a half old, does not appear to be a Gary Cooper fan!

—Bill Migicovsky, Montreal

DEAR BILL MIGICOVSKY: That's OK. My cat, Sandrine, doesn't like him much either, and my other cat, Miriam, only likes him in "Design for Living." They think he's vain and prissy beneath the stoic facade.

DEAR MASTER MICK: I caught the last scene of "The Nights of Cabiria" the other night and once again was turned into a puddle. What is it about the transition that takes place just before Cabiria looks directly into the camera and smiles, that incredibly poignant moment?

— Tom Hulsey, Pleasant Hill

DEAR MASTER TOM: I don't even particularly like that movie, but I feel the same way about that ending, which is very emotional and wonderful — really, it can stand alone, apart from the film, and still produce a strong effect.

There are lots of things in that sequence, and some can't be analyzed, but among them is the wish fulfillment of being welcomed back to life following a moment of desolation — of having life care enough to welcome you. It's what we would all want for ourselves. Also, the scene contains much of what we love about Italy — not just the extroversion, but also the warmth and the willingness of the young to embrace people of all ages.

Finally, Cabiria is a mess as a person, and yet the movie accepts her and recognizes her gloriousness. The scene shows the giving and receiving of exactly what we all want to give and receive, which is unconditional love. Thus, the scene is a fantasy of connection that derives its power from the same emotions that power movies in general, which is our frustrated desire to expand ourselves, to connect with strangers, to be part of a whole.

In that scene, we see all that we lack and all that we want. Of course, audiences start bawling — they're seeing something both essential to their existence and foreign to their lives.